27 September 2012
Olympian Steve Hooker visits the Pilbara
Inland Pilbara towns in Western Australia got a taste of London 2012 this week when Olympic pole vault champion Steve Hooker visited school students, community members and Rio Tinto employees in Tom Price and Paraburdoo.
Steve Hooker, whose visit was part of his role as an athlete ambassador for Rio Tinto, attended a community event in Tom Price on Tuesday evening where he shared experiences from his recent trip to the London Olympic Games.
Mr Hooker also visited school students in both Tom Price and Paraburdoo.
"The lead up to London was certainly one of the toughest periods of my sporting career. It's pretty much all I focused on for 12-months, so it has been really nice to be able to come out here and thank the community for supporting me.
"Living in Western Australia you hear so much about what the mining industry does for this country, so it was fascinating to actually see a mine up close and speak to the men and women who live and work in it," he said.
Rio Tinto general manager for Greater Paraburdoo operations Scott Wilkinson said the community was thrilled to have the high-profile Olympian in town.
"It was very inspiring to hear from Steve the amazing things he's achieved through hard work and dedication. We were so pleased Rio Tinto's partnership with the Australian Olympic Team enabled him to share these experiences with communities like ours in regional Australia," said Mr Wilkinson.
During his tour, Hooker also visited employees at Rio Tinto's Greater Paraburdoo mine yesterday and spoke about the importance of safety and staying focussed amid daily distractions.
"It was great to hear Steve talk about safety in the context of his own career - it's a topic that's close to our hearts," said Mr Wilkinson.
About Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and New York Stock Exchange listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, thermal and metallurgical coal, uranium, gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide and salt) and iron ore. Activities span the world and are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in Asia, Europe, Africa and South America.
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